Coffin-Siris Syndrome is a rare genetic disorder associated with (neuro)developmental delays and social-communicative problems. Given the genetic overlap with Autism Spectrum Disorder, research...Show moreCoffin-Siris Syndrome is a rare genetic disorder associated with (neuro)developmental delays and social-communicative problems. Given the genetic overlap with Autism Spectrum Disorder, research into the social and cognitive characteristics of children with CSS is crucial for understanding their behaviors and developing targeted interventions. This study investigated the relationship between social autistic-like behavior, emotion recognition, Theory of Mind, and adaptive functioning in 24 children with CSS, using a descriptive and correlational design. The ABAS-3, SRS-2, and NEPSY-II-NL were administered to measure social autistic behavior, social cognition, and daily functioning, respectively. Children with Coffin-Siris Syndrome displayed significantly more social autistic-like behaviors than the norm group, which negatively correlated with their daily functioning. No significant relationships were found between social cognition and social autistic-like behavior or daily functioning, possibly due to the small sample size. These findings emphasize the importance of early screening and interventions targeting social autistic-like behavior and adaptive functioning in children with CSS. Future research with a larger sample size and a control group is needed to confirm and expand upon these results.Show less
Declining reading skills among Dutch schoolchildren have been visible for a number of years, and the gap between strong and weak readers continues to increase. To identify ways to reduce this gap,...Show moreDeclining reading skills among Dutch schoolchildren have been visible for a number of years, and the gap between strong and weak readers continues to increase. To identify ways to reduce this gap, this study examines what support can be offered to weak readers in addition to regular reading lessons at school. It consists of a between-subject design with two interventions and a control group. The first intervention type (UIL) provided students with explicit reading instructions. The second intervention type (RA) mainly involved reading along with the student, similar to what parents do who read along with children at school. The interventions were given online through Microsoft Teams or Zoom. The effect of the interventions on improving students’ reading skills was examined for three dependent variables: word reading, silent reading and reading aloud. A significant effect was found only for word reading, with students in both the UIL and RA condition performing, on average, significantly better than students in the control condition and with students in the UIL condition performing, on average, significantly better than students in the RA condition. The study concludes that both intervention types did not have the desired effect on improving students’ reading skills as a whole, only on word reading. Further research should examine whether the online format or duration of the study could explain these results.Show less
Seks Chromosoom Trisomie (SCT) is een chromosomale afwijking waarbij kinderen worden geboren met een extra X- of Y-chromosoom. Kinderen met SCT lopen een hoger risico op problemen in sociaal...Show moreSeks Chromosoom Trisomie (SCT) is een chromosomale afwijking waarbij kinderen worden geboren met een extra X- of Y-chromosoom. Kinderen met SCT lopen een hoger risico op problemen in sociaal functioneren en op het ontwikkelen van een Autisme Spectrum Stoornis (ASS). Onderzoek naar sociaal functioneren en de relatie met ASS bij kinderen met SCT is beperkt. Empathie wordt beschouwd als belangrijk voor sociaal functioneren en lijkt verminderd te zijn bij kinderen met SCT. Deze studie heeft als doel te onderzoeken of de relatie tussen empathie, sociale gedragsvaardigheden en autisme-eigenschappen verschilt voor kinderen met SCT en controles. Deelnemers aan dit onderzoek waren 37 kinderen met SCT en 38 controles. Kinderen werden beoordeeld tijdens een test van 120 minuten. Ouders werd gevraagd om vragenlijsten in te vullen terwijl het kind werd getest. Om sociale gedragsvaardigheden te meten (Gedeelde Aandacht, Sociale Interactie en Gedragsverzoeken) werd de ESCS gebruikt. Om empathie te meten werd de EmQue-vragenlijst gebruikt, en om autisme-eigenschappen te meten werd de SRS-2 gebruikt. Kinderen met SCT vertoonden significant meer autisme-eigenschappen dan controles. Kinderen met SCT toonden ook significant minder empathie dan controles. Kinderen met SCT verschilden niet van controles in Gedeelde Aandacht of Sociale Interactie. Ze verschilden wel van controles in Gedragsverzoeken. Empathie en sociale gedragsvaardigheden verklaarden niet het verschil in autisme-eigenschappen tussen kinderen met SCT en controles. De interactie tussen de leeftijd van de kinderen en de onderzoeksgroep bleek net niet significant in het verklaren van het verschil in autisme-eigenschappen tussen SCT en controles.Show less
Background: previous research showed the relationship between the risk status of the mother and child aggression. Attachment has also been related to child aggression and this includes prenatal...Show moreBackground: previous research showed the relationship between the risk status of the mother and child aggression. Attachment has also been related to child aggression and this includes prenatal attachment. If prenatal attachment moderates the relationship between risk status and child aggression, an intervention could be implemented to improve the prenatal attachment in order to prevent or reduce aggression by the child. Research question: Does prenatal attachment moderate the relationship between the risk status of the mother and the aggression of 20-month-old children? Methods: Maternal risk status and prenatal attachment were assessed during pregnancy and aggression was assessed when the children were 20 months old. The mothers were divided into two groups, one group consisted of high risk mothers and the other of low risk mothers (based on criteria by the World Health Organization and a weighted count of the number of risk factors). The mothers completed the Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (MAAS) during the first assessment (pregnancy) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) during the 4th assessment when the children were approximately 20 months old. Analyses of variance were used to examine whether prenatal attachment moderated the association between risk status and child aggression. Results: The risk status of the mother predicted the aggression of the 20-month-old child. There also was a significant relationship between prenatal attachment and risk status. There were no significant relations between prenatal attachment and aggression. Lastly, prenatal attachment did not moderate the relation between the risk status of the mother and the aggression of the child. Conclusion: The results of this study confirm the relation between the risk status of the mother and the aggression of the 20-month-old child. An intervention could be introduced when a mother is categorized as high risk. Further research is needed to see which factors could moderate the relationship between the risk status of the mother and the aggression of the child.Show less
This study researched the relation between cognitive functioning, parental perceptions and the sensitivity of young mothers. Studying this relationship is relevant because parental sensitivity is...Show moreThis study researched the relation between cognitive functioning, parental perceptions and the sensitivity of young mothers. Studying this relationship is relevant because parental sensitivity is an important aspect in the development of children's attachment and social-emotional behavior. It was investigated whether cognitive functioning and parental perception separately and together are predictors of sensitivity and whether the relationship between the cognitive functioning and the sensitivity of the mother is mediated by parental perception. The sample consisted of 193 first-time mothers with a age between 18.6 en 28.9 years (M= 24.9, SD=2.29) and their infants aged between 18.7 en 24 months (M=20.4, SD=0.7). Sensitivity was observed during two tasks (Free Play and Teaching Task), cognitive functioning was measured with (part of) the WAIS-III and parental perception was measured with a validated questionnaire (the Parental Cognitions and Conduct Toward the Infant Scale, PACOTIS). Single and multiple regressions showed that cognitive functioning is a significant but weak predictor of sensitivity, parental perception is not a significant predictor and cognitive functioning and parental perception together are significant predictors. However, there was no significant indirect effect of cognitive functioning on sensitivity through parental perception. Mothers with a lower IQ have a risk concerning diminished sensitivity towards their child. However more research is required to investigate which other factors contribute to the development of healthy attachment behavior in general and sensitivity specifically.Show less
Introduction. Prenatal psychopathology affects early and later child development. The present study analyzed limited maternal emotion regulation and bipolarity during pregnancy and infant anxiety,...Show moreIntroduction. Prenatal psychopathology affects early and later child development. The present study analyzed limited maternal emotion regulation and bipolarity during pregnancy and infant anxiety, sadness and aggression at six months. Method. The data derives from the longitudinal study “Een Goed Begin”, in which expectant mothers and their child from the Netherlands were followed during their pregnancy and after birth. For the current study, data from screening instruments were used to perform predictive analyses. Results. Limited maternal emotion regulation during pregnancy was not predictive of anxiety, sadness and aggression in infants at six months. Bipolarity of the expectant mothers was only predictive of aggression of the infants at six months. Collectively, the predictors were not predictive of fear, sadness and aggression. Unexpectantly, positive relationships were found between maternal bipolarity during pregnancy and infant anxiety and aggression at six months when the mother reported low emotion regulation problems. Conclusion. Based on the results it cannot be said with absolute certainty that mood problems in pregnant mothers are predictive of negative emotions in infants at six months. That said, it seems that a high degree of bipolarity symptoms during pregnancy is predictive of anxiety and aggression of the infant at six months.Show less
Dit onderzoek gaat over de invloed van verwachtingen, sociaal-economische status en sociaal netwerk van ouders op externaliserend probleemgedrag bij jonge kinderen.
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
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Individual differences in behavior are best explained through a multisystem approach by integrating neurobiological, neurocognitive, and social environmental factors. This longitudinal study...Show moreIndividual differences in behavior are best explained through a multisystem approach by integrating neurobiological, neurocognitive, and social environmental factors. This longitudinal study examined whether early physical aggression could be predicted by stress regulation, inhibitory control, risk background, and sex. In addition, this study is among the first to investigate whether the four stress response patterns of the Adaptive Calibration Model (Del Giudice et al., 2011) could be generalized to 12-month-old children by studying: autonomic nervous system (ANS), sympathetic nervous system (SNS), parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), and hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. ANS was indexed by heart rate, SNS by salivary alpha-amylase and pre-ejection period, PNS by respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and HPA axis by salivary cortisol. The sample consisted of 214 mother-child dyads (116 boys) with an equal number of high- and low-risk backgrounds. Physical aggression was assessed through maternal reports at 12, 20, and 30 months of age. At 12 months, children performed an inhibitory control task and the fear task (robot paradigm) was used to measure baseline, response, and recovery levels of the stress systems. Latent profile analysis revealed three profiles: (1) ANS Responders, (2) Moderate Arousal, and (3) Hormonal Responders. No significant differences were found between the profiles with regard to inhibitory control, average age of mother and child, number of boys and girls, and number of high- and low-risk children. Results showed that higher physical aggression scores were associated at 12 months with ANS Responders and lower inhibitory control, at 20 months with Hormonal Responders, boys and high-risk, and at 30 months with boys and high-risk. In addition, an interaction effect was found at 20 months: higher inhibitory control in girls was associated with lower physical aggression scores, but not in the Hormonal Responders. The discussion highlights the importance of using a multisystem approach to explain individual differences in early physical aggression.Show less